Asparagus-cutting frame.



APPLIUATION FILED EAR. 4, 1912.

Patented July 30, 1912.

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MARTIN aonennnnn or oaxnnvgcamronnra, rammed canrronlvm FRUIT GANNEES.ASSOCIATIO1\T, OF 'FRANCI SGO, CAIJIFOR NIA, A ,GORIORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

Specification of Letters latent.

ASPARAGUS -GUTTING Patented July 30, 1912.

Application filed March 4,1912. Serial No. 681,437.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN Jononnnnn,

a citizen of the United States, residing at,

Oakley, in the county of Contra Costa and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Asparagus-Cutting Frames, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to asparagus han dling apparatus, and particularly to the frames in which the, asparagus is held and gaged whereby it may be cut into equal lengths preparatory to canning.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and effective frame for this purpose.

To this end, myinvention consists in the novel frame which I shall now describe by reference to the accompanying drawings,in which Figure 1 is an end view of the device; the

bench, gage-wall and presser-bar being shown in cross-section and in position for beginning the operation. Fig. 2 is a front view of the device in position as shown in Fig. 1.. Fig. 3 is an end view showing the presser-bar moved down. Fig. 4-. is a back view of the device. I 1 is the general frame structure in which there may be as many cutting frame units as may be desired, one only being here shown.

2 is the bench upon which the asparagus is piled. This bench has width equal to the length to which the asparagus is to be out; and it has a length adapted for the convenient use of a workman. One side of the bench 2 is entirely free and open, but the other side is closed by a gage-wall 3.

This wall is hinged at its top to the mainframe-structure, as shown by the hinges 4. It is held closed by suitable means, as, for example, by the buttons 5, seen in Fig. 4. When released from these buttons the gagewall is automatically swung upward out of the way, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, in order to expose the bench 2 from that side. This movement is effected by the cord 6 which passes up over a pulley 7 and suspends a weight 8.

Mounted in guide slots 9 in the ends of the main structure 1 is the presser-bar 10 lying in the vertical plane of and having dimensions equal to the bench 2. This presser-bar is moved down by means ofthe lever 11, which is fulcrumed at 12 to a bracket 18 of the structure 1, and is connected pivotally to the stem 14 of-thepresser-bar by a clevis or link 15 which is provided with several holes 16 to regulate its point of attach ment, thereby providing for a variation in the limits of movement of the bar. The lever 11 is drawn down by a rope 17, and is held in the position to which it ismoved bya tooth 18, Figs. 1 and 3, engaging a rack 19. The lever is automatically returned when released, in order to lift the presserbar, bymeans of the rope20,which passes up over a pulley 21 and suspends a weight 22.

The useand operation of this apparatus are as follows:A workman on the open side of the bench 2 piles the asparagus thereon with the tips all up against the closed gage-wall 8, and the butts projecting from the free or open side of the bench to varying distances according to their lengths.

WVhen his pile has reached the desired height, he grasps the rope 17 of the lever 11, and by pulling down said lever causes the presser-bar 10 to descend upon the top of the asparagus pile and to press and hold it down as tightly as required, the lever being held by the rack 19. Then with a handknife or cutter he quickly cuts off all the projecting butts of the pile even with sides of the bench, the presser-bar and the frame ends. When this is complete, he releases the lever 11 which was held by the rack 19, and the weight 22 pulls it and the presserbar 10 up. At the same time a second workman on the other side of the apparatus releases the gage-wall 3 from the buttons 5 so that the weight 8 immediately swings the wall away from the plane in which the tips of the asparagus lie without injuring said tips, and upward to a position out of the way, as seen. by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. Thereupon this workman removes the asparagus from the bench to its waiting receptacles, or vehicles on his side of the apparatus. When one batch is thus removed, he pulls down the gage-wall 3 and fastens it, and thereupon the first workman repeats his part of the work.

By this apparatus time is saved, as the workmen operate without interference and at stations most convenient for rapid work. Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An asparagus cutting frame compris ing a bench upon which the asparagus is piled; a gage-wall at one side of the bench, up to which the tips of the asparagus are laid, said gage-wall being mounted to swing away from the plane of the tips in exposing that side of the bench; and a presser-bar adapted to hold the pile of asparagus upon the bench while the butts are being cut.

2. An asparagus cutting frame comprising a bench upon which the asparagus is piled; a swinging gage-wall at one side ofthe bench, up to which the tips of the asparagus are laid; means for locking said gagewall in closed position and releasing it again; a presser-bar adapted to hold the pile of asparagus upon the bench while the utts are being cut; and means for automatically swinging said gage-wall when re leased, away from the tips of the pile in exposing that side of the bench.

3. An asparagus cutting frame comprising a bench upon which the asparagus is piled; a swinging gage-wall at one side of the bench, up to which the tips of the asparagus are laid; means for locking said gagewall in closed position and releasing it again; a presser-bar adapted to hold the pile of asparagus upon the bench while the butts are being cut; means for automatically swinging said gage-wall when released, away from the tips of the pile in eX- posing that side of the bench, and means for automatically throwing the presser-bar back in order to relieve the pile.

4. An asparagus cutting frame comprising a main structure; a horizontal bench in said structure, upon which the asparagus is piled, said bench being open on one side; a gage-wall hinged at its upper portion to the main structure and lying against and closing with its lower portion the other side of the bench, said gage-wall having the tips of the asparagus laid up to it; means for locking the gage-wall to the bench and releasing it again; a weighted cord connected with the gage-wall for swinging it upward away from the asparagus tips in exposing that side of the bench; a reciprocativc presser-bar mounted in the main-structure and adapted to bear down upon and hold the pile of asparagus upon the bench while the butts are being cut; a lever and connections for operating the presser-bar; means for holding the lever down to retain the presser bar in operative position; and a weighted cord attached to the lever for throwing it up again and returning the presser-bar.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARTIN J ONGENEEL.

Witnesses WM. F. BOOTH, D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

